This invention relates generally to automobiles and other motor vehicles and more specifically to apparatus that facilitates the replacement of engine lubricating oil in such vehicles. Changing the motor oil in today's automobiles is most easily accomplished by taking the vehicle to a service station or lubrication center where the vehicle is placed on a hydraulic lift to raise it about five or six feet off the ground so that workers can easily access the engine's oil drain plug and oil filter. This procedure is somewhat expensive and time consuming for the automobile owner, given the fact that the owner must travel to and from the service facility and wait for the work to be initiated and completed. Many automobile owners would prefer to perform these periodic oil changes themselves, but are generally deterred from doing so for a number of reasons. First, the owner must crawl underneath the car while it is parked in the garage or on the driveway in order to gain access to the engine oil drain plug and oil filter. The short distance between the bottom of the vehicle and the surface on which it is parked makes this a very difficult task. At best, the owner can purchase a pair of ramps onto which the vehicle may be driven to elevate the front end an additional six to twelve inches. The owner must still crawl underneath the slightly elevated vehicle, is sure to emerge with his hands covered with dirty oil, and is likely to spill the used oil on his clothes and the garage floor or driveway during the course of draining, collecting, and removing the used oil and of removing and replacing the oil filter.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide an oil change apparatus that may be permanently mounted to a motor vehicle to facilitate quick and convenient oil changes by the owner himself. This and other objects are accomplished in accordance with one of the illustrated preferred embodiments of the present invention by providing an oil filter relocation apparatus to relocate the engine oil filter to a position of convenient and easy access by the owner. In accordance with another illustrated embodiment of the invention an oil drain apparatus having a drain valve is mounted adjacent one side of the motor vehicle where it is easily accessed by the owner for controllably draining the used motor oil into a container. In accordance with yet another illustrated embodiment of the present invention, an electrical transfer pump is permanently mounted on the vehicle and is activated by the owner to pump used oil from the motor oil pan into a disposable oil bag or container. By employing the oil change apparatus of the present invention, the do-it-yourself automobile owner is spared the grimy task of crawling underneath his vehicle to gain access to the engine oil drain plug and oil filter. The consequent spilling of used oil on the owner and on the garage floor or driveway when the oil drain plug and oil filter are removed is also eliminated. In addition, the owner can accomplish an oil change quickly, at a time that fits his schedule, and at a substantial cost saving.